Rabid skunk found in Bent County

Bent County Public Health is warning people to vaccinate their pets against rabies and avoid wildlife.

Bent County Public Health is warning people to vaccinate their pets against rabies and avoid wildlife.

The warning comes after health officials announced another skunk tested positive for rabies on Friday, March 29. A total of six skunks have been found to be infected with rabies in the county from August 2010 to now.

Health officials said the latest skunk was found just east of McClave on US 50. Previously, skunks were found in Hasty and Las Animas. In June of 2012 a cow from Bent County tested positive for rabies.

Kaysie Schmidt, director of Bent County Public Health, recommends people take these precautions to prevent rabies:

- Ensure that dogs and cats are vaccinated properly against rabies by a licensed veterinarian. Rabies vaccination requires booster doses. Discuss vaccinating horses and other livestock with your veterinarian.

- Don't feed wild animals or allow pets around them. Teach children to stay away from wild or dead animals. Do not keep pet food outside that may attract wild animals.

- Protect all pets, particularly animals too young to be vaccinated, from contact with wild animals. Puppies and kittens can be vaccinated for rabies as early as three months old, depending on the vaccine used.

- Contact your veterinarian if your dog or cat is bitten or scratched by a wild animal, such as a skunk, bat, fox or raccoon.

- If you or a family member has been bitten by a domestic animal or wild animal, contact your doctor and Bent County Public Health without delay.

- If you see a skunk or other wild mammal that this acting abnormally, such as stumbling or acting aggressive, especially during daylight hours, make sure you keep children and pets away from the animal and call the Division of Wildlife to report the location.

- To remove a dead skunk or other wild animal from your property, do not touch the animal. Remove the carcass with a shovel or other tool, and double bag it for the trash.

- Take steps to bat proof your home.

Rabies is a viral disease that infects the brain and other parts of the central nervous system, causing brain swelling and damage, and ultimately, death. Rabies is spread primarily through the bite of rabid animals, resulting in the spread of the disease through their infected saliva. Rabies also can be spread when saliva from an infected animal gets into open wounds, cuts or enters through membranes of the eyes, nose or mouth.

Preventive medication is available for people known or suspected to have been bitten by a rabid animal. But once rabies symptoms appear, the disease is almost always fatal. It is important for people bitten or scratched by a wild or domestic animal to contact their doctor.

The best way to protect your pets and family is to get your pets vaccinated. Low-cost rabies vaccination clinics are held annually by the City of Las Animas. The 2013 clinic will be held on Saturday, May 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Las Animas City Hall garage. For more information, contact the City Clerk's office at (719) 456-0422. Peak View Animal Hospital comes to Las Animas on a monthly basis and provides vaccinations, including rabies ($8), as well as low cost and free spays and neuters. Clinics are held the first Tuesday of the month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Bent County Fairgrounds. For more information, contact Peak View Animal Hospital at (719) 263-4321.

If you have questions about rabies or about whom to call in your area for response to a wild or suspect animal, call Bent County Public Health at 456-0517 or COHELP at 1-877-462-2911 for more information.